Seemingly, an attempt to patch microtransactions into the base game. Personally, I will keep my custom patched version 1.4.2 permanently.
If we ever get to Skyrim, we definitely need to ensure that the CK integrates flawlessly. /IRONYOFF

I suppose when they release The Elder Scrolls 6 somewhere between 2023-2027, modding wont be anywhere near as free as it is with TES I-V. It will likely be tied to the bethesda.net in one way or another and also include an ingame store for purchasing all kind of things, which should have been part of the base game. I don't think they are going to use another GameBryo version either - Todd Howard said something about the technology for ES 6 not "available" at the moment. This doesn't sound like just a modification of the GameBryo Engine, but a complete rebuild. This will have its advantages, but also a severe impact on the modding capacity - if they don't release necessary tools for modding on their own. It's all just speculation but many of these conclusions seem to be sound when considering the overall state of the gaming industry.

Elder Scrolls wise, OpenMW, Tamriel Rebuild and Beyond Skyrim are the only really interesting perspectives. I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this matter.

Bethesda seems to be bullish on VR right now. When Todd Howard says that the tech just isn't there yet for ES6, I take this to mean that they are hoping for a more VR focused future. Thats just a theory though. And VR certainly isn't there yet.

One of the biggest issues with the Creation Club mods is that plugins are limited to 1000 records, and the filesize is capped pretty low. That basically means that no mod which I'd consider paying for is actually possible. It was sort of pitched as a way for Bethesda to commission top-class modders (like Elianora, Emma and Mike Hancho) to make small DLCs. So far, from what I've seen, it's ending up used to make new microtransaction skins.

Either CC is gonna fail hard or Bethesda will enforce paid mods further. Since they treat free mods as "automatically our property so we can do whatever we want with them" as it was shown in F4 with their plagiarism of Autumn Leaves, it isn't that farfetched that they could try to DMCA TES-related Nexus sites to hell or reuse them for CC. Either way, this is gonna suck.

Hard to imagine them really giving the middle finger to players by not making mod development tools available in the next game. Then again, when Fallout 4 came out I recall being surprised to discover that they were withholding the CK for so long. I heard from somewhere that the idea behind it was that modders would not be able to make meaningful content before Bethesda published and sold their DLCs. Don't know if there's any truth to that, but they definitely have all the opportunity to set things up in their favor for the next game if they so wish.

Daily reminder that Pete Hines was accusing a modder of hacking the game when the CK for FO4 hadn't been released yet.
Also, I think they can easily make the CK for TES6 either sold as DLC or even exclusive for Creation Club collaborators. Bethesda's been pushing for paid mods for over 2 years, they won't back down easily since the Steam fiasco was clearly not enough. A lot of work and money has been put into launching Bethesda.net, marketing and console mods. I'd also speculate that the sole purpose of mod support for consoles was for testing the waters for a future paid mods platform, i.e. Creation Club.
The scariest thing is that IF Creation Club gets successful, we can kiss free modding scene goodbye as more and more devs and publishers would start pushing for paid mods in order to make an extra buck. Especially nowadays, when AAA games are starting to flop one by one.

Either CC is gonna fail hard or Bethesda will enforce paid mods further. Since they treat free mods as "automatically our property so we can do whatever we want with them" as it was shown in F4 with their plagiarism of Autumn Leaves, it isn't that farfetched that they could try to DMCA TES-related Nexus sites to hell or reuse them for CC. Either way, this is gonna suck.

I believe that the CK EULA grants them the right to make use of mods made with their construction assets, but it does not (and cannot) waive the copyright generated by such a mod, which I believe is shared equally between the creator of the derivative work (the modder) and the rights-holder of the original property (Bethesda).